Second FDNY Firehouse Closes Due To Scabies

A second FDNY firehouse in Queens was shuttered on Friday after a firefighter there was confirmed to have scabies — the second station to be closed in the borough in two days because of the skin infection, officials said.

FDNY Engine 251 on Union Turnpike near 255th Street in Glen Oaks was closed Friday afternoon to make way for cleaning crews to rid the building of scabies-causing mites, the department said.

On Thursday, Engine 320 on Francis Lewis Boulevard near 37th Avenue in Flushing closed after a member there was diagnosed with the skin infection. The two firehouses are expected to be closed for about three days as the equipment and grounds of the buildings are disinfected.

Hazmat personnel — some in full body suits — went to work for a second day at the Flushing fire station, pulling bags of bedding, clothing, even bunker gear out of the firehouse, FDNY sources said.

The two companies that work out of the shuttered buildings are still in operation, but have been relocated to other firehouses, said FDNY spokesman Jim Long. All 911 calls in the areas covered by the companies are still being responded to by the firefighters, he added.

Scabies is a skin infection caused by tiny bugs that burrow into a person’s skin and lay eggs beneath the surface. It causes irritation and itchiness and can spread from person to person through crowded living conditions and direct skin contact with an infected person.